A wise photographer recently said, "I don't deal with religion in America". Well, why not, you might ask... "because religion in America is bad" he says. He then said something I will never forget... "Bush is giving God a black eye".
Damn...... I'm speechless.....
*** This conversation was relayed to me by my sister... on her first day as a photo assistant she met quite a man... thats some deep shit.
5.25.2007
5.23.2007
Shop for Kids
Do you want to adopt a child? its easy. Just go to www.adoptuskids.org and find one you like. Once on the website click on the "meet the children" tab and plug in criteria.
You can search for children according to age, race, location, and other criteria. Read about each child to see which one will match your needs best.
Once you find the one you like, simply contact your local department of social services and speak to someone in the Adoption Unit. You will even have their case # from the website to make the process faster.
So if you're interested, shop online for your next child. It's easy!
** Please remember these children may live in your local community. If you happen to see a child that you've read about on the website, please do not approach them to talk to them about adoption. Thank you.
You can search for children according to age, race, location, and other criteria. Read about each child to see which one will match your needs best.
Once you find the one you like, simply contact your local department of social services and speak to someone in the Adoption Unit. You will even have their case # from the website to make the process faster.
So if you're interested, shop online for your next child. It's easy!
** Please remember these children may live in your local community. If you happen to see a child that you've read about on the website, please do not approach them to talk to them about adoption. Thank you.
Taken in Vain
It frustrates me when i hear conservative Christians telling children and teenagers that they better not say "Oh my God" or exclaim "Jesus!" because when they do that they are taking Gods name in vain and breaking the third commandment.
I think this is a ridiculous way of thinking. How is saying OMG taking Gods name in vain? What does that mean anyway? God is more than a word, and the word is not what makes him holy or godly.
My view on the issue is different, a little more abstract. For those of us who call ourselves Christians - we carry Christs' name as a part of our identity. Gods identity is not to be taken lightly, and we can read what his character is throughout the bible.
When a person decides to call themselves a Christian, they have decided to take on the identity of Christ - God. Now, when this same "Christian" involves him/herself in "unchristian" activities, thoughts, and actions then they are taking the Lords name in vain. Or in other words, they're being a hypocrite... because they are participating in things which are not a part of Christ's character, and are in fact completely opposite his character.
I am not even going to begin to define what "christian" and "unchristian" activities and thoughts are. Thats up to each person to figure out and struggle with.
I'm not gonna lie... I know I've taken Christs name in vain many times... and I'm ashamed about it. But none of those times involve my saying "Oh my God!"
I think this is a ridiculous way of thinking. How is saying OMG taking Gods name in vain? What does that mean anyway? God is more than a word, and the word is not what makes him holy or godly.
My view on the issue is different, a little more abstract. For those of us who call ourselves Christians - we carry Christs' name as a part of our identity. Gods identity is not to be taken lightly, and we can read what his character is throughout the bible.
When a person decides to call themselves a Christian, they have decided to take on the identity of Christ - God. Now, when this same "Christian" involves him/herself in "unchristian" activities, thoughts, and actions then they are taking the Lords name in vain. Or in other words, they're being a hypocrite... because they are participating in things which are not a part of Christ's character, and are in fact completely opposite his character.
I am not even going to begin to define what "christian" and "unchristian" activities and thoughts are. Thats up to each person to figure out and struggle with.
I'm not gonna lie... I know I've taken Christs name in vain many times... and I'm ashamed about it. But none of those times involve my saying "Oh my God!"
3.25.2007
defying broadway
as many of you know, me and my sister are big fans of the WICKED musical.
well, we've taken it to a whole 'nother level... below you will experience the vocal theatrics of my sister and i... singing defying gravity from the musical. i am playing elphaba (the witch), and adriana is playing glinda (the good).
its super funny... little buddy ammiel video'd it for us... at the end of our fabulous spring break homie party.
so take a look... and laugh... cuz i sure did.
well, we've taken it to a whole 'nother level... below you will experience the vocal theatrics of my sister and i... singing defying gravity from the musical. i am playing elphaba (the witch), and adriana is playing glinda (the good).
its super funny... little buddy ammiel video'd it for us... at the end of our fabulous spring break homie party.
so take a look... and laugh... cuz i sure did.
1.27.2007
forever
ever since i was a little girl the idea of living forever scared me.
so i learned to put the idea out of my head and just believe that heaven will be amazing and wonderful, even though its forever.
as a teenager i remember people always having questions in my bible classes about how heaven will be... i hated those questions... first because i think its pointless to figure it out cuz the bible says its beyond our imagination... and second because the whole eternity thing always comes into the conversation and i cant avoid thinking about it. so then i would think about it for a few mintues... get totally spooked and then laugh it off and distract myself with the cute boy sitting across the room.. haha.. sike, not at TA...
so through the years i've been able to not really think about the whole forever thing in much detail... until last night.
me and a few friends started a revelation study last night and the conversation somehow went to heaven... it was kinda funny what we were talking about and not all too serious cuz we were at the end of our study together... and that was that... until sleep time.
i laid in bed trying to sleep and this idea of heaven kept creeping back to my conscience... and i'd push it aside, trying to sleep... but it wasn't working, i was not sleeping.
so i decided to let the thought come into my mind all the way so that i could think about it and then it would leave me alone so i could sleep.
and thats when it happened...
i let myself think about forever and love and joy and learning.. and forever again... and i didnt let myself stop thinking about it. i imagined and thought and wondered.
my conclusion?
okay... i know this is gonna sound really weird, but hear me out...
i want to die and "go to hell".
so then when this thought came to surface i was completely surprised. but then i kinda put it together in the overanalytical way that i usually do... and this is what i came up with:
i'm afraid of what i do not know, as are most people. forever and eternity are completely foreign realities to us therefore its kinda scary. and yes, death is also a bit scary but for me death is a lot more familiar than eternity. we are taught that in this life everything has a beginning and end. we see it when we're little as our treasured little flowers die, as our little goldfish/hamsters/birds die... as the seasons change... we come to have some sort of acceptance and understanding of death, and for me, its not very scary at all.
and i already mentioned how i've always been skittish about forever...
so i'm thinking that of course, my subconscience is aware of how i feel about both death and forever... and it picked the familiar comfortable alternative without me really even knowing it.
yea... why do i continue sinning and ignoring god and (i'm not gonna list all my faults but you get the idea) etc..?
because i wanna die... i dont wanna go to heaven... i want this to end eventually.
it sounds bad right?
but its true. as i was thinking last night, i found that its completely true for me. so now what do i do with this information? well... i figure its a pretty good thing that this came to my awareness cuz now i can try and convince myself that heaven will be good, even though i dont understand it. right now living forever sounds horrible, but once i am a part of it i will laugh when i think back to when it was super scary to me.
reflective thinking is so liberating. it brings forth so much information from deep inside the self, and i learn to know me. knowing me has been hard, but its great fun as well.
maybe, just maybe... now that i know this about me... i can try once again to come near to jesus, knowing that the end result will not be scary... i just have to believe that.
so i learned to put the idea out of my head and just believe that heaven will be amazing and wonderful, even though its forever.
as a teenager i remember people always having questions in my bible classes about how heaven will be... i hated those questions... first because i think its pointless to figure it out cuz the bible says its beyond our imagination... and second because the whole eternity thing always comes into the conversation and i cant avoid thinking about it. so then i would think about it for a few mintues... get totally spooked and then laugh it off and distract myself with the cute boy sitting across the room.. haha.. sike, not at TA...
so through the years i've been able to not really think about the whole forever thing in much detail... until last night.
me and a few friends started a revelation study last night and the conversation somehow went to heaven... it was kinda funny what we were talking about and not all too serious cuz we were at the end of our study together... and that was that... until sleep time.
i laid in bed trying to sleep and this idea of heaven kept creeping back to my conscience... and i'd push it aside, trying to sleep... but it wasn't working, i was not sleeping.
so i decided to let the thought come into my mind all the way so that i could think about it and then it would leave me alone so i could sleep.
and thats when it happened...
i let myself think about forever and love and joy and learning.. and forever again... and i didnt let myself stop thinking about it. i imagined and thought and wondered.
my conclusion?
okay... i know this is gonna sound really weird, but hear me out...
i want to die and "go to hell".
so then when this thought came to surface i was completely surprised. but then i kinda put it together in the overanalytical way that i usually do... and this is what i came up with:
i'm afraid of what i do not know, as are most people. forever and eternity are completely foreign realities to us therefore its kinda scary. and yes, death is also a bit scary but for me death is a lot more familiar than eternity. we are taught that in this life everything has a beginning and end. we see it when we're little as our treasured little flowers die, as our little goldfish/hamsters/birds die... as the seasons change... we come to have some sort of acceptance and understanding of death, and for me, its not very scary at all.
and i already mentioned how i've always been skittish about forever...
so i'm thinking that of course, my subconscience is aware of how i feel about both death and forever... and it picked the familiar comfortable alternative without me really even knowing it.
yea... why do i continue sinning and ignoring god and (i'm not gonna list all my faults but you get the idea) etc..?
because i wanna die... i dont wanna go to heaven... i want this to end eventually.
it sounds bad right?
but its true. as i was thinking last night, i found that its completely true for me. so now what do i do with this information? well... i figure its a pretty good thing that this came to my awareness cuz now i can try and convince myself that heaven will be good, even though i dont understand it. right now living forever sounds horrible, but once i am a part of it i will laugh when i think back to when it was super scary to me.
reflective thinking is so liberating. it brings forth so much information from deep inside the self, and i learn to know me. knowing me has been hard, but its great fun as well.
maybe, just maybe... now that i know this about me... i can try once again to come near to jesus, knowing that the end result will not be scary... i just have to believe that.
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